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Friday, May 11, 2012

Melrose Night @ Melrose Ave, LA

Joyrich!!!

We were heading towards Sepulveda Blvd after our workout from Gold's Cole to take more pictures of the Japanese venues along that street and then move on to Santa Monica, when driving along Melrose we saw food trucks sprouting like dandelions on the side of the street and we had to pull over!!! Street Fest!!

Turns out, it was Melrose Nights, a food truck and retail shop event occurring during the first week of every month and we just happened to pass by on the night it was happening...fortuitous! Having only eaten at very few Foodtrucks in LA, this was a great opp to score a couple of bites and review them!! And given the weather was really nice, it was great to hang out on the streets, revisit a few of the Melrose dives that I used to love to go....

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There were a ton of food trucks and only two mouths, so we couldn't sample each venue. But we vow to come back to conquer and pillage another day....

Meanwhile, here's some photos of the ones we didn't get to, check them out...

El Pan Americana

Cheer Burger

Coolhaus Ice Cream

Go Chew

OC/Calbi Taco

Sweet E's

Lobsta Truck: Serving Lobsta Rolls in Southern California

Mmmmm, this is an awesome concept! Being from NYC, I remember summers driving up to Montauk, stopping by a food truck by the side of the road and grabbing some lobster rolls, soft shell crab sandwiches with huge bucket of fries and a cold beer to wash down a sticky, humid Northeast Summer...

Lobsta Truck was the first hit of the nite, and we were excited; who doesn't' love a good Lobsta roll? With fresh Lobster chunks on a toasted roll with either mayo or butter, (we got both) it was amazing: good sizable hunks of lobster flesh, tender and fresh with what was a proportionate amount of condiment that never overpowered the main ingredient, combine it with the toasted roll, it was bliss...

We ordered a freshly squeezed Lemonade to wash down our roll, and it was Summer all over again!! We only ordered one item so as not to fill ourselves up so early in the evening, but the next time, we definitely are looking to try the Crab Roll, the Clam Chowder and the Whoopie Pie!!!

Komodo Food: Dangerously Good Food

Without any rhyme or reason, we walked further down the street and saw the Komodo Food Tuck and decided to try it out. Bringing street food with a twist, their website explains that Komodo is not your average Taco truck, designed to bring high style high quality restaurant meals without compromising value and taste. We had to try it for ourselves.

We ordered the side dish: the meatballs with Romesco Sauce, which visually looked very appetizing. And for the most part, it was alright; there wasn't anything that was particularly amazing about it, but it didn't offend in any way either. I wouldn't bother to order it again.

Looking at the Taco/Burrito list, they had some intriguing dishes that seemed to be worth trying: we thought about it and decided to try one, and if we liked it, we'd go ahead an get some of the others. So we started with the Asian Marinated Chicken: Grilled Marinated Chicken with Jalapeño Stir Fried Rice & Mandarin Oranges which sounded really good.

It sounded good in theory, but it didn't deliver: maybe the proportion of Chicken to Rice was off, I didn't get a flavorful bite of the Marinated protein, just a lot of unflavored, chewy rice. The Oranges were a nice touch, but not enough to save the Dish. After that, we decided not to get any more, which was a shame, because the Blazin Shrimp (spicy Singaporean-style Shrimp with Sour Cream & Cilantro) and the Fish n' Grapes (deep-fried Alaskan Cod with Fresh Grapes & Roasted Almond Salad) sounded really, really good- but we had spent enough here trying so we moved on. Again, maybe we ordered wrong or it wasn't our nite for Komodo...

The No. 1 Currywurst Truck

So it came down to a final truck, we were getting pretty full, and looking around, we weren't getting a vibe of new offerings. So making a final round, we ran into the Currywurst Truck and thought, 'hey, that's pretty cool'! We were enticed and tried a couple of dishes.

I had to ask if they were the real deal, I remember in Germany going to these food trucks and getting some sausages and fries with curry mayo and thought it was so good! He said it was the real deal and even offered up some samples, it was exactly like I remembered!

And to top it off, they offered some hi-tops so you could actually put your food on a table and eat a little more civilized! (sometimes it's the little things that count)! Add to that the truck itself was pretty well designed: awesome graphics and flat screens created an ambience that makes you want to hang out and eat there for a while- which is really hard to accomplish in a mobile unit on a street!

We started with the Veal Bratwurst with Sauerkraut, Mustard and a Roll. The Brat was amazingly good, great quality meat and perfect temperature and with the Mustard, it made our night! But what stole the show was the sauerkraut! It was unbelievable tasty, not sour at all, in fact it had a sweetness that only comes from the vegetable itself- we thoroughly enjoyed this dish!

And it would have been remiss if we hadn't gotten the Currywurst, and it did not disappoint us: Veal Bratwurst with a Curry Ketchup- we ordered it in a medium spice with a sprinkle of curry powder on top-it was orgasmic! What a great time we had, enjoying our evening on the street, having great street food, and being able to be a part of the streetscape on Melrose Ave!

Out of the window I saw the Apple Strudel and I couldn't resist, we had to get it! With big chunks of Apple, it was a flakey but not too sweet dessert that put us over the top- we were stuffed!!!

We can't wait to come back to enjoy Melrose Ave like this again- to sample again the Food Trucks we liked, and venture out to try some new ones too!

visitor's globe

airbrushed..for your pleasure!

Welcome to Out Last Night!

Let the food blog begin! I hope that you enjoy reading my blog and adventures with food and the beautiful cities that I get to visit So enjoy this (somewhat) skewed but unique perspective on life!

A Little Bit About Me:

I'm a native New Yorker who moved to Las Vegas for work five years ago and now find myself a full fledged West Coast lover. A former restaurant designer and business consultant, I find myself constantly searching for restaurants that offer great food, unique design and quality service. I love the heart and soul of dining: out with the company of family and great friends enjoying food that compliments the social experience and creates everlasting memories!!!